For years, the street to victory within the cobbled Classics ran by Patrick Lefevere’s groups. Even on the uncommon afternoons once they have been crushed, they at all times extracted a heavy toll from their rivals. As of late, nonetheless, it feels as if Soudal-QuickStep have been bypassed completely on their residence patch.
The scene on the bus parking past the end line of E3 Saxo Basic on Friday afternoon advised its personal story. In victory or defeat, the QuickStep bus was historically the main focus of the autopsy at races like this, with reporters and digicam crews bustling exterior to listen to Lefevere’s snap judgement on occasions within the Flemish Ardennes.
These days, the media scrums kind exterior the Visma-Lease a Bike and Alpecin-Deceuninck buses. On the Soudal-QuickStep bus, against this, the crew employees may go about their post-race duties in peace. The Mathieu van der Poel-Wout van Aert rivalry obliterates all different storylines this Spring, in fact, however it’s nonetheless hanging that lacklustre Soudal-QuickStep shows now not really feel novel sufficient to be really newsworthy. That is merely the brand new regular.
Friday marked the worst E3 Saxo Basic efficiency of QuickStep’s historical past, superseding even final yr’s obvious nadir of sixteenth. Yves Lampaert was the crew’s greatest finisher on Friday, and he reached Harelbeke in twenty eighth place, greater than 4 minutes down on Van der Poel. The crew that received this race eight instances in its first 18 years of existence has someway change into an also-ran on the cobbles over the previous three Springs.
QuickStep have confronted crises within the Classics earlier than. In 2010 and 2011, there was a lot gnashing of tooth over their wrestle to withstand Fabian Cancellara’s imperial part. However even then, Tom Boonen and firm have been Cancellara’s doughtiest rival, and so they duly returned to pre-eminence as the last decade wore on. In 2024, against this, Soudal-QuickStep are struggling even to compete with the boys chasing the unassailable Van der Poel and Van Aert.
“I do not blame anybody for not having the ability to comply with Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert, who’re hors catégorie, however we’re not even taking part within the group behind them,” Lefevere wrote in his Het Nieuwsblad column on Saturday. “Lidl-Trek has clearly taken a step ahead and is within the prime ten with three riders. UAE Crew Emirates has two males and neither of them is known as Tadej Pogačar. We now have nobody.”
Soudal-QuickStep’s recruitment coverage has contributed to their shortcomings within the Classics. In latest seasons, the crew’s emphasis has shifted in the direction of Remco Evenepoel’s Grand Tour ambitions and the switch technique has been altered accordingly. This previous winter, Tim Declercq, Jannik Steimle, Florian Sénéchal and Davide Ballerini all left the squad, and the marquee new arrival was Mikel Landa, who will function Evenepoel’s key climbing lieutenant on the Tour de France.
“The very fact is that I’ve made errors in my switch coverage,” Lefevere wrote. “I learn in all places that we’re lowering the Spring crew to deal with Grand Excursions and that’s completely true. However with riders like Julian Alaphilippe, Yves Lampaert and Kasper Asgreen, a big a part of the wage price range nonetheless goes to leaders for the Flemish Classics.
“That is the lesson for myself: no extra coming into into contracts amid euphoria, which can have occurred too usually with the riders talked about. No matter occurs, I will not speak to anybody about contracts till after Paris-Roubaix.”
Alaphilippe, topic to such sustained and private criticism from Lefevere over the previous yr or so, appears to be like sure to depart Soudal-QuickStep at yr’s finish, however it stays to be seen who, if anybody, will arrive to plug that hole. On Saturday, Lefevere dominated out the prospect of signing Milan-San Remo winner Jasper Philipsen, whose contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck expires this yr.
“I want I may say that we’re within the working to convey him in for subsequent yr, however, as at all times, I’m working up in opposition to my price range,” Lefevere wrote. “My recommendation for Philipsen: keep the place you might be.”
Gent-Wevelgem
The nice truism, in fact, is that the ultimate tally for the Classics marketing campaign will likely be made solely after Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the place Evenepoel is looking for to change into the primary man to win the race 3 times in a row since Moreno Argentin in 1987.
And whereas victory on the Tour of Flanders subsequent Sunday appears a really distant prospect within the midst of the anticipated Van der Poel-Van Aert duel, Gent-Wevelgem does supply Soudal-QuickStep a extra fast probability to place a distinct gloss on a most attempting cobbled Classics marketing campaign.
The course across the Franco-Belgian border makes for a distinct form of problem to Harelbeke and the remainder of the occasions within the Flemish Ardennes. The repeated ascents of the Kemmelberg are key, in fact, however so too are the stiff North Sea winds, whereas the flat run-in to the end presents an opportunity for a regrouping and a mass dash.
With that in thoughts, Tim Merlier leads the road for Soudal-QuickStep on Sunday. Together with Evenepoel, the sprinter has been a brilliant spot for the crew this season, weighing in with six victories, together with Nokere Koerse and a hat-trick of wins on the UAE Tour.
“We all know this race, we loved a number of nice moments right here, and we hope that on Sunday we’ll be up there when it issues,” mentioned directeur sportif Wilfried Peeters. “If it comes all the way down to a dash, we now have Tim who can depend on a powerful crew.”
The USA’s neo-professional Luke Lamperti, so assured so far, additionally strains out for Soudal-QuickStep, whereas Lampaert and Asgreen will hope to make extra of an impression right here than they did at E3. Alaphilippe sits out Gent-Wevelgem however is scheduled to race Dwars door Vlaanderen forward of the Ronde.
“Tim Merlier joins the crew, and he brings the successful temper greater than anybody else,” Lefevere wrote. “If Van der Poel assaults on the third time up the Kemmel on Sunday, Tim won’t persist with his wheel, but when Alpecin-Deceuninck performs the Philipsen card a bit of extra and Visma-Lease a Bike desires to dash with Olav Kooij, then that can be useful for us.”
The forecast for hailstones and excessive winds, in any case, may shuffle the playing cards in very surprising methods on the street to Wevelgem, and Soudal-QuickStep are in dire want of being dealt a form hand.
They aren’t alone of their travails, in fact. Their previous rivals at Lotto-Dstny, who had such excessive hopes for this Spring with Arnaud De Lie, have been additionally largely nameless at E3 Saxo Basic. De Lie shone at Omloop final month, however he was by no means within the race right here, rolling residence in 51st.
“I wasn’t positioned properly on the Taaienberg after which it was over,” De Lie advised Sporza. “My legs weren’t good, the sensation was not good. Did I lack expertise? No, it was simply hectic. In case you are poorly positioned in that zone, then it’s over.”
Regardless of the motive, for De Lie as for Soudal-QuickStep, the stakes at Gent-Wevelgem are a bit of bit greater.
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